


And We're All Under The Upper-Hand

by Fluffy_Monster



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: De-Aged Tony Stark, F/M, Kid Peter Parker, M/M, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2020-08-13 18:47:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20178994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluffy_Monster/pseuds/Fluffy_Monster
Summary: Tony and his little brother, Peter, are kicked out of their apartment after their Aunt, May, passes away. They find help at Tony's former job from his boss, Natasha.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The title is inspired by Ed Sheeran's A-team, which can also be considered the soundtrack for this chapter. 
> 
> Also, this is my first ever fic. I'm kinda not sure how it'll go. I just had an idea that I needed to get out of my system

Taking a deep breath, Tony stared at the coffee shop across the street. Every other time, before today, this place meant time away from MIT, time spent with friends, time spent making money to help Aunt May take care of him and his little brother. Right now, this corner coffee shop, nestled in Brooklyn, New York, could be the difference between providing for Peter or losing him to the foster care system. 

The past week felt like a horrible nightmare to Tony, from receiving a call that Aunt May had passed away, to the landlord giving them an eviction notice because they were behind on rent, never mind the in between that entailed losing his dream internship with a top engineering company in Los Angeles. 

He felt a tiny squeeze on his hand and looked down to where it came from. Peter had a curious crinkle between his eyebrows, with his head tilted up to look at Tony. Tony gave him a small smile before taking another deep and crossing the street with his brother. 

*** 

The coffee shop looked just like he remembered. There was a a couple of tables and chairs in the center, while sofas were lined up around the wall in a beautifully chaotic manner. The cream white and brown colour scheme emphasising the clash between fancy and cozy. The smell of coffee permeated the air as waiters rushed back and forth, taking and delivering orders. 

Tony went up to where the barista was concentrated on another creation, seemingly oblivious to the world around him. 

"Hey Clint -" 

"Ah, I see the prodigal son has returned once again," he said whilst pushing the drink he was working on aside, and starting on the next order. He briefly looked up and his movements stuttered when he saw the child standing shyly by Tony, "And you must be Peter, I've heard so much about you - brilliant young man, they say," he said going around his work station and crouching in front of Peter and extending his hand for a hand shake, "Name's Clint." 

Peter shyly took his hand, eyes wide as he looked at his big brother quickly to check if it was okay and responded, voice barely above a whisper, "I'm Peter, but my brother calls me Pete." He let go of Clint's hand after their handshake and wrapped an arm around Tony's leg and leaning on him. 

Clint then got up and ruffled Tony's hair, with a mischievous grin while Tony kept trying to dodge it.

"Hey, knock it off!" 

"Sheesh, what's got you all wrung up?" 

"Uhm... Is Nat in?" 

"Yea, she's in her office and I can guarantee she'll be just as stoked to see you." 

"Thanks Clint," he said with a soft smile before taking Peter's hand and walking to where Nat's office is located. He found her glaring at the papers in front of her, as if they had personally offended her. He knocked on her door lightly. When she's immediately looked up with a frown, he tried going for a smile but probably ended up with a grimace, based on Nat's frown remaining on her face. 

"Aren't you supposed to be in LA?" 

Trust Nat not to waste time and jump straight to the point. 

"Yes, but-" 

"Because I distinctly remember dropping you off at the airport just last week." 

"Yes, you did but when I landed, I got a call that A-Aunt May had passed away and I had to come back," Tony explained, his voice hitching with sorrow. The frown on Nat's was then replaced with concern, her eyes going between Tony and Peter. She waved them in, whilst moving stuff around on her desk. She put her arms on her desk and looked straight at Tony, before asking gently:  
"What do you need me to do?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New day, new people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all enjoy this.

"Who are you?" 

The sudden voice behind him caused Tony to nearly drop his groceries as a yelp escaped him. He slowly turned around, brown eyes wide as he came face to face with an impressive scowl between a pair of gray eyes. A gulp. Maybe this was too good to be true after all. 

*** 

It had been a week since showing up to Natasha's office and having an emotional breakdown. Nat had attentively listened while he tried telling her what was wrong in between sobs and sniffles. When he was done and still trying to compose himself - Peter's tiny arms wrapped around his neck trying to comfort him - Natasha made a few quick phone calls before clearing up her desk. Once she had gathered her coat, she told Tony to get up and follow her. Next thing he knew, they were in their old apartment packing up their clothes and the few personal items they could take, while Natasha went to talk to the Landlord. By the time she got back, Tony was rummaging through Peter's things to make sure his spare asthma pump and important documents were packed. 

He must have dozed off as Natasha drove to the new place that she had arranged for them. When he blinked his eyes open, he found them parked in what appeared to be the better part of Brooklyn. A doorman was standing guard in front of the building they were parked in front of, looking regal in his attire. He stared at the hustle and bustle outside the car as confusion slowly took over him. He turned to ask Natasha what was going on but she was already getting out of the car, Peter excitedly copying her. Tony had no choice but to hastily follow her. She was already taking out their bags, Peter immediately grabbing his backpack. 

"Hey Nat - Pete, no - what are we doing here? Where is 'here' even?" 

"Downtown Brooklyn," was the curt response he received, as Natasha grabbed some bags and headed for the door. 

Tony quickly grabbed a box and a duffel bag, and scrambled after her. 

"Good afternoon, Miss Romanov," he heard the door man say, with a slight bow towards Natasha. 

"Jarvis, hi," she responded with a little smile, "I need to introduce you to these two, they will be staying at Steve's place. 

"This little munchkin right here," she said gesturing to Peter, "is Peter, and that over there, is his big brother Tony," she finished with hand thrown in his direction.   
"It's nice to meet you Mister Jarvis," he heard Peter say as he got closer to the group. 

Jarvis, who bent lower to shake Peter's hand with his gloved hand, responded with a, "Pleasure, young Sir!", his British accent coming out. He straightened up and gave Tony a slight nod before focusing on Natasha again. 

"How may I be of service, Miss Romanov?" 

"Please get the rest of the things we weren't able to get, if you can, it shouldn't be much."

"Of course, Miss Romanov!" 

Natasha gave another smile, before heading for the elevators. 

"Nat, I'm not sure you realize this but if I couldn't afford our previous place, I definitely can't afford this one," he said walking in step with her. The elevator doors opened and they stepped in before Tony lowered his voice, "This place has a freaking doorman, Nat. A doorman!!" 

He could hear his voice going hysterical, but he couldn't stop it. He could feel the panic closing in on him as he tried to do some mental math, but his numbers seemed to be getting worse everytime he tried to figure out how he'd make this work. 

"Relax, Kotenok, it's a friend of mine's place. He barely uses it since he's never home and when he is, he either sleeps at my place or Bucky's place most of the time. 

"I figure it should buy about a year or more to get things sorted... Besides, I stay two floors below, so you can easily get to me if you need anything." 

At that, Tony got better at controlling his breathing and calming his racing heart. Then the realization of how much Nat had really done for them, since they had shown up at her office that morning, set in. Before he could stop himself, a sob escaped past his throat. He laid his head on her shoulder, since he couldn't hug her with their baggage. 

"Thank you, Nat," sniff, "I have no idea what I would have done if you weren't here," sniff. 

"Mhmmm," she hummed before leaning her head on his, "don't thank me yet, I just bumped you up with a weird roommate who shows up at random times and his even weirder best friend. You won't be so grateful once you meet them." 

That got a snort out of Tony, while Nat smirked. When the elevator doors opened, Tony realized that they were at the very top floor, and his freak out began again.   
"So, uhm, you're sure this friend of yours won't mind finding us here?" 

"Yes, I'm sure, I spoke to him before we went to your place." 

"And he just agreed to giving a stranger access to all of this?" 

"Steve's a saint, he wanted to board a flight to come help personally but his publicist needs him in London."   
That got a frown from Tony. 

"And what does this Steve do, exactly?" 

"He's an author, nothing you've read though." 

At that, Tony simply shrugged. There was no point looking a gift horse in the mouth.

***

By the time the sun went down, Tony found himself standing in the large apartment - more of a penthouse, really - trying to take it all in. After Natasha was done helping them move in, she left them with only two rules - the master bedroom and the office were off-limits.  
He went to check in on Peter, who was playing with one of his Lego sets in the bedroom they were sharing. He crouched down by Peter to get a better look before sitting down entirely. 

"Hey Buddy, you're okay?" 

Peter stopped playing for a moment and nodded, before resuming what he was doing. 

"Good. Good, that's good," he said nodding to himself, "Listen, I know things are confusing right now and it hurts with Aunt May gone, but I want you to know that I love you and there's nothing I wouldn't do for you, Pete." 

That got Peter to look at him, head tilted, before lowering his head, shoulders hunched, and softly responding: 

"But you can't promise me you won't die as well." 

Of all the things he thought Peter might respond with, that was definitely not it. His mouth kept opening and closing, scrambling for words with the strong need to comfort his baby brother. Oh, how desperately he wanted to make it all better for Peter. No child should be this well acquainted with loss but he knew lying was also not an option with how brilliant Peter was, not just for a six year old, but for the genius that, he was beginning to suspect, ran in the family. 

The decision was made for him when he heard the first sob break out. He quickly gathered Peter up and began rocking him side to side, whispering soft promises that he was determined to keep. Peter fell asleep that way, and Tony on one hand had come up loads of potential ideas for giving Peter the best life he possibly can. After tucking Peter in, he went to the kitchen, where he had found an empty sketch book earlier. He laid out his bullet point plan: 

• Find Peter a good school nearby.   
• Get a job in one of the local tech companies.   
• Buy groceries.  
• Start saving again after taking care of points 1 & 3.   
• Get one of his pet projects patented to fast track point 4 (with the exclusion of Dum-E and FRIDAY)   
• Find a way to thank Natasha and her friends.   
• Be the best guardian to Peter as he can be. 

It was not necessarily a well devised plan but he'd figure it out as he goes. He found himself unable to sleep, so he tore out the page with the plan and started working on schematics for an idea he had been toying with since he had finished his thesis on green energy alternatives. He worked on it through the night, paying zero attention to the time. He could not tell when he fell asleep, just that he woke up to a small finger poking his cheek. He blinked slowly into awareness before his eyes focused on Peter, who's face was right in front of his. He barely caught himself from falling over the chair as he startled. 

"Dude," he mumbled, "you almost gave me a heart attack!" 

"Aunt May said that is unlikely since you have sir-vived your coffee cons- cons-tion," Peter responded with a cheeky grin, causing Tony to grin back at him before ruffling his hair. 

"Good morning, Squirt. You slept well?" 

"Yes... And now I'm hungry, how about you?" 

"I think you can guess. Well there's nothing immediate to eat here, how about we go buy groceries and I'll get you a donut?" 

Peter grinned even more and extended his hand for a handshake, "Deal!" 

*** 

It was as they were coming back from their grocery run when it happened. Tony was trying to balance their groceries delicately, while Peter walked ahead with the one bag he was carrying. He saw Peter tugging at the handle excitedly when he got there. 

The fact that it opened without much prompting was the first warning that something was wrong. When Tony got to the doorway to find an apartment that was almost the exact opposite of the one they were staying in, he felt his stomach drop. Where they were staying was characterised by warm colors and an almost tangible coziness, whereas this place was characterised by shades of gray and the occasional blue. 

He could smell the strong, probably expensive, aftershave lingering in the air. His eyes darted around trying to spot Peter, which should have been easy with the minimalistic furniture his eyes kept landing on. He tentatively walked in, whispering Peter's name and getting no response. He saw a half empty mug on the coffee table with a stack of papers next to it. He turned to look in what he discovered to be the kitchen, and still nothing. He whispered Peter's name again, and still got nothing. At this point, he just wanted to drag Peter out of here before the owner realised they were ever there. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and before he could let it out... 

"Who are you?"

The sudden voice behind him caused Tony to nearly drop his groceries as a yelp escaped him. He slowly turned around, brown eyes wide as he came face to face with an impressive scowl between a pair of gray eyes. A gulp. Suddenly, Tony could not find his voice. Standing before him was Sargeant James Barnes, the CEO of Howling Commando Corp and his personal hero, in just office slacks and an unbuttoned shirt, a tie hanging untied around his neck and his hands stuffed in his pockets.

Tony could feel himself gaping, could feel the blush creeping up on his skin. Was there a protocol for accidentally invading your crush's personal space? He doubted there was, especially since said crush was glaring daggers at him. He gulped and prepared to bullshit his way out of this. In the end, he didn't have to because at that exact moment, Peter peeked out from behind Mr Barnes' legs, another boy with shaggy dirty blonde hair in tow. 

"Hi Mister," he said, craning his neck to briefly look at Mr Barnes before turning to Tony, looking like the picture of innocence. 

"I don't think this is where we stay," he said with a sheepish smile, "but I made a new friend," he added in a chipper tone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To Sargeant Barnes, nothing is too hard for Harley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this is late, I had tests and what not, but I hope you enjoy this

After making the hastiest retreat in the history of all retreats, at least that is what Tony would like to believe - in actual fact, it took a little more than that with a couple of promises to bring Peter over so that the shaggy-haired kid, that he now knew as Harley, would let Peter go - Tony resorted to avoiding Sgt Barnes as much as possible, even outright hiding in the lobby in two instances, earning himself a judgemental stare from Jarvis.

He succeeded for a grand total of two weeks before the Sargeant decided to ambush him early one morning. Yes, ambush is the correct term, seeing as Tony was still sleep dazed - having fallen asleep on his green energy project sometime before dawn - when he went to respond to the insistent knocking at the door. It took a moment for his mind to register what he was seeing.

A grey, long-sleeved Henley was stretched over a broad chest, muscle straining on the arm that was suspended in the air - probably to harass the door some more - whilst the other was stuffed into loose black sweat pants. His eyes travelled up, over the column of a muscular neck, to a chiselled jaw, over plump lips to stormy grey eyes, before he promptly closed the door, convinced he was probably just dreaming. He went over to the couch, and tossed himself on it without much thought. He got about 20 seconds of bliss before the knocking started again.

"Tony, who's atta door?" He heard Peter mumble next to him. He peeked an eye open to see Peter standing in front of him with his red and blue blankie trailing behind him, a thumb stuck in his mouth. Tony turned his head on to the couch cushions and groaned, realising it was not just a dream, before reluctantly dragging himself up to go to the door.

"Rough night, Doll?"

"Uhhh," Tony's brain could not match the man he met two weeks ago, who looked like he wanted to murder him on site, to the man sporting a man-bun, smiling in front of him and teasingly calling him 'Doll'. He looked behind him to make sure Sgt Barnes was not talking to someone behind him, maybe Steve had come in last night. All he saw he was Peter occupying the same spot on the couch that Tony had occupied before answering the door. He must have taken more time trying to get his brain to work than he thought, because when he turned back to Sgt Barnes, his smile was looking more strained than before, as though it was barely holding up from turning into a grimace.

"May I come in?", He asked, nodding towards the apartment. The wisps of hair that had escaped the bun, sticking to the sweat on his face. Tony's only response was to step back into the apartment and let him in, since his mouth had decided to stop working. He watched Barnes' eyes roam around the apartment as he walked in, taking stock of everything he could see, before circling back to him.

"Aren't there like three perfectly functional bedrooms in this place?" He asked, a familiar furrow finding it's place between his eyebrows.

"Huh?"

"Is this, maybe a bad time?", He tried asking again, the frown becoming more pronounced.

"Huh? Oh no, sorry, I just haven't had coffee yet, so everything is going to take a while," was Tony's response (finally!). He made his way to the kitchen, hoping Barnes would follow, and started the fancy coffee machine.

"I'm so glad the coffee machine finally has someone who actually uses it, Stevie can't stand coffee," remarked Barnes, a playful smirk on his face.

"Well, Stevie's a heathen," grumbled Tony, drumming his fingers impatiently on the counter.

"True...", a twitch of the mouth, eyes shining with mirth, then Barnes casually added, "And he's also the guy who's roof you live under."

Tony visibly grimaced at that, "A nice heathen," he amended before grabbing a mug, briefly turning to Barnes, "Would you like some?," getting a nod in response and grabbing another to pour coffee. He quickly handed James a mug, before downing his own without pause and getting a refill.

______

James could see the sleepy haze was over the moment he had two calculating coffee brown eyes fixed on him whilst Tony caressed his refill like it was his world. It was disconcerting, to say the least, not because just five minutes ago, he didn't think Tony was capable of that much focus, but because of how his body was suddenly reacting to it. He had not forgotten how Tony checked him out earlier before closing the door in his face.

In his defense, however, he had not had someone make him their center of attention for any other reason than his arm. The arm he is certain Tony had not seen yet, and it would remain that way for as long as he got to be _seen_ like this, like the James he was before the army piled up issues for him.

"Are you really going to make me ask?," Tony finally decided to break, but all he got was an arched eyebrow from the Sargeant.

"Okay, unless I skipped a large part of our relationship, we don't normally do this... So how may I help you, Sargeant?"

James cleared his throat, remembering his mission after his workout.

"I'm here to apologise about last time," seeing the cute frown on Tony's face, he elaborated, "According to Harley, and now Nat and Steve, I must have done or said something to you, for Peter not coming over last weekend... Or any other time because, in Harley's words, 'Peter actually liked playing with me, so it must be what you said to his brother' and now because of my, uh, let's say reputation, that's the conclusion everyone's sticking with," he ended with a shrug, left hand still in his pocket.

"That must be quite the reputation then, Sargeant," Tony said, a coy smile playing on his lips, "But seriously you reacted the way any sane person would have to finding a stranger their house."

"Tony, I'm hungry," he heard Peter grumble from the couch.

"Sure Pete, what do you want?"

Peter peeked his head over the couch, "Well, what are you offering?"

Before Tony could respond, there was a knock on the door that had Tony groaning as he put his coffee down and going to the door, James silently trailing behind him.

"Oh great, you're awake!," Nat exclaimed when he opened the door, and promptly pushed her way in and put the trenchcoat she had in her hands on the hook by the door.

"Yep, the Sargeant beat you to it"

Natasha looked at James, arching an eyebrow when James looked right back at her without any explanation. She turned her attention to Peter, engulfing him in a hug and telling him that she missed him.

"Anyway, I just wanted to know how you guys were doing? Have you found a school nearby for Peter? How's the job hunting going?"

James took a sip of his coffee, his lip twitching because he knew this tactic. Small talk was Nat's way of finding the best way to deliver uncomfortable news.

"I'd say we're doing great, right Pete? Pete started school last week-"

"But I hate it there," Peter helpfully added, "everyone is just so mean there and they think I'm weird because I answer the teachers' questions," Nat petting his head and nodding as though she completely understood.

"Pete, we spoke about this, you can change schools as soon as I get the money for it," said the Tony, with the exhaustion of someone who had had this conversation multiple times, "Which brings me to this," he added, going to the dining room and coming back with his laptop. While Tony was turning his laptop on, James came up with what could be the solution to his and Tony's problem - or at least Peter's problem.

"Hey, Tony," he started casually, "what if I could get Peter enrolled in Harley's school?"

"You probably could, you're Sargeant James Barnes, that name carries weight you know," was Tony's distracted response. Nat, on the other hand, was looking at him suspiciously.

"What are you thinking, Barnes?," or translation, in Nat-speak,_ 'what are you up to?'_

"Well, Harley's having a hard time at his school and I just think it would be better if he had a friend there," he added a shrug to look nonchalant, but that only got Nat to be even more suspicious and Tony to look at him with suspicion. Peter seemed to be the only one sold on his good intentions, if his "YES!" is anything to go by.

"I just said that would only happen once I get the money for it and-"

"Don't worry about the costs, just say yes."

Tony turned back to his laptop without giving a response. After tapping a few buttons, schematics of some sort popped up on the screen.

"I'm finally done with the design, FRIDAY and I have ironed out all the flaws and I spoke to Bruce about using his labs to make the prototype, he agreed as long as he gets first dibs for production," Tony went on to explain the intricacies to Nat, and James felt like he missed a big chunk of this conversation. He was saved by Peter's stomach grumbling, prompting Tony to cut what he was saying short.

"I'm just going to head out," James said, deciding to just excuse himself before he could decide why Tony's dismissal bothered him so much.

"Yea, me too, before Clint decides to destroy the coffee shop while I'm gone."

Nat got up and gave Peter a hug, before hugging Tony as well, while Peter decided to walk up to James.

"Mr Harley's Dad, Sir, where is Harley?"

"He's at home sleeping, he doesn't like getting up early on weekends."

"Me too, weekends are for sleeping," Peter nodded seriously, as though it was the sole truth in life.

"Sargeant Barnes," Tony called, "I will think about your offer on condition that I get to check out the school first."

"Certainly," responded Bucky as he put the mug he was nursing, on the kitchen counter.

"By the way, when you say Bruce, do you mean my Boy Toy Bruce or Richie Rich Bruce?," He heard Natasha ask, earning a laugh from Tony before he responded.

"Definitely Richie Rich, Boy Toy is somewhere in India being the great person he is."

"Great, great," by then James had joined them again and Tony was walking them to the door and as Nat was grabbing her trenchcoat, she decided to give Tony the news that James had been waiting for her to deliver since she started with the small talk, "I also came to tell you that Steve's coming back, so don't freak out too much when you wake up to some random guy in the apartment."

"What?"

"Bye, don't think too hard," and with that, she was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James regrets EVERYTHING

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this is late, I had trouble integrating the last chapter and this chapter without changing anything from the last one. I'm still not happy with the thread but ah well.

If you had asked James if it was a good idea to have his mischievous ward in the same school as the seemingly sweet, innocent little Peter Stark, last Saturday, it would have been an absolute yes. He did come up with the idea after all... Now, however, sitting in his office with their principal on the phone, trying to massage away the headache forming with his flesh hand, he could admit that he had been a fool. An absolute fool.

On the Monday, after that godforsaken idea had been brought up, James had gotten up bright and early, got ready before waking Harley up and getting him ready. After they had breakfast, they both made their way to Steve's apartment, only to find Peter and Tony arguing whilst still getting ready. Peter, apparently, did not understand why he was awake that early if he was not going to school. Peter only relented when Tony resorted to begging, saying:

"Pete please, can I just have some coffee and then we can try this again?"

Fortunately, Tony didn't have to get a response then because Peter had decided that giving Harley his attention beat winning the argument with Tony. Harley, for his part took everything in stride, being his usual mischievous self and being blissfully unaware of what impressing Tony and Peter could mean for him. James had decided not to tell him about Peter potentially joining his school for fear of Tony changing his mind. He did not want to add another disappointment to the kid's already long list of disappointments.

When his sister and her husband passed away in a robbery gone wrong, James found himself with sole custody of his nephew-turned-son. He was just 2 years old then and had been at home with a babysitter. James had hoped to be able to provide Harley with a life he and Becca had never had. As he watched Harley grow, he realized that he had a genius in his hands and that's a whole different breed of children. Don't get him wrong, he was not stupid by any stretch of the imagination, he just knew that raising Harley had taken a lot of guesswork from him and that same method could not be used for a child who was already working on circuit boards and potato guns.

However, as much as Harley's smarts never failed to make James proud, they also made him an outcast amongst his peers and he had trouble making friends at school. Oftentimes, Harley would not even want to go to school. Every morning was met with resistance before Harley consoled himself with the probability of wrecking havoc in class... At least that's what James told himself when Harley would get this mischievous glint in his eyes that spoke of a phone call later from Principal Fury.

In hindsight, James should have taken the time to wonder why Harley got along with Peter so quickly, but in his defense, he had already fallen victim to Bambi eyes and how they trailed over him behind a cup of coffee.

"Good morning Sargeant Barnes," Tony said with a beaming smile when he put his mug down, "Missed me?"

For a split second, James was thrown off with that greeting, but he recovered quickly enough to play up his Brooklyn charm and responded with a drawl, "How could I not, Doll?"

The smirk that was playing on his lips quickly turned into laughter when Tony, who had just taken a sip of his coffee, started choking. James couldn't tell if the red that was now decorating his face and going down his neck was from the choking or if it was from the embarrassment, but the wide eyed look of disbelief when Tony had managed to collect himself, only made him laugh some more.

"You could've killed a guy, Sargeant," Tony finally said with a look of mock hurt, a hand on his chest to play up the dramatics.

"Then you should know better than to play with the wolves, Mr Stark."

"If we must do formalities, it's actually Dr Stark, Mr Stark was my dad," Tony said with a slight grimace, "But please, let's stick to just Tony... Always."

James frowned at that, he was pretty sure he was being taken for ride. Tony looked young, young enough to be considered a freshman at university, there was just no way he already had a doctorate to his name.

"Tony... This is the part where you say you're joking."

"About what?"

"About you having a doctorate?"

"Well, I have two, I could've gone for a third but then I got this amazing internship in Cali and then everything else happened," Tony responded, ending with a shrug.

"Jesus Christ Kid!"

... And suddenly, just like with Harley, James found himself feeling inadequate.

They soon left after that. The school was the way it always was when he dropped off Harley. There were children being dropped off by their parents, all flocking to the door in their little school uniforms with one of the teachers waiting by the door to greet them. Except this time around, the Principal was waiting for them by the door since James had called ahead.

James, absentmindedly reached into the car for the folder he had of Peter and his academics. Unfortunately, he used the hand he had made a conscious effort to not show Tony. He only realised his mistake once he tried handing it over to Tony but he did not make an effort to take it. When he turned to look at him, he found both Tony and Peter staring at where he's hand clasped the folder, eyes wide, mouths hanging open. He tried to quickly pull it back but Tony reached out almost subconsciously whilst Peter started squealing about how this was the coolest thing he had ever seen and how he wanted one, "Will you make one for me Tony?".

Tony was just holding his hand, almost reverently, caressing it like something precious.

"Mr Barnes," they heard the principal say, that prompted Tony to get closer to James, the hand now between their bodies. His eyes shining as he looked up at James, their height difference being prominent since James had to look down.

"I have so many questions!"

James was beginning to think he should just make peace with always being confused where Tony was concerned. They both turned their attention to the principal, who had an eyebrow cocked at them. 

"Are we ready to start?" 

***** 

When they were done with the tour of the school, Peter and Tony were busy with the school administrator, ironing out a few details. Principal Fury hung back with James and Harley, his eye patch making him more intimidating than James knew him to be.

"Shouldn't you be in class Mr Keener?" 

"Yes, Mr Fury, Sir," Harley said with a grin. 

"Well, then get to it Mr Keener!" 

"Of course, Sir," said Harley, before turning to James and shyly asking, "Dad, does this mean Peter will be coming to my school now?" 

"Yea, Harls, are you okay with that?" 

Harley beamed up at him and nodded vigorously before making a quick escape. 

He heard Fury snort next to him. 

"I hope you know what you're doing, Barnes." 

"Excuse me?" 

"That little display at the parking lot. Who would have thought that a young thing like that would be what got you to show any other emotion besides murder?" 

"I don't know what you mean, Fury." 

"If you say so... Just make sure they know the way to vice principal Coulson's office, I have a feeling we'll have new regulars there, besides yourself and Harley that is," Fury added before going to his office like he hadn't just caused a riot in James' mind. 

***** 

Peter started school on Tuesday and now, on Friday, he was dealing with Fury on the phone since Harley and Peter decided to spruce up what was meant to be a safe and fun experiment which resulted in some weird purple goo exploding in the class. Thankfully, it was not toxic but it did result in quite some damage, especially with everyone's clothes having red stains now. James can not say if the consequences would have been as bad if they had not broken out into giggles or if Tony - since he had been the one available to go to the school on their behalf - had not thought it was just as hilarious and telling the teachers and the other parents to "loosen up, geez, this is what learning is about". 

The more Fury talked, the more intense the headache got. He knew one thing, the moment he got home, heads were going to roll. Once the call ended, James decided to finish his current paperwork and call it a day. 

When he got to the apartment building, he headed straight for Steve's apartment - since Harley had decided that's where he wants to be after school since Tony was more fun than the after school program, infact James was convinced that is where their crazy experiment was born - feeling himself get pissed all over again. He knocked and tried breathing in and out slowly before someone responded. When the door opened, he was braced to go off on them but his words died in his throat when he saw who answered the door.

"Heya, Buck!" 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, I don't even know with this chapter, but we get to introduce someone new😁

Steven Grant Rogers. The man, the writer, the scale on which perfection is measured... THE FUCKING TROLL!! He was currently red on the face, trying to catch his breathe from laughing too much as Tony glared at him from his position on the floor. 

  
Tony had fallen asleep on the kitchen counter again, while reworking the design for the arc reactor before fabrication and perhaps, if Steve had not secretly replaced his coffee with decaf, he might have actually finished it the previous night... Or yesterday morning, it really depends on how you look at it. 

  
He had woken up to the smell of real, genuine coffee close to him and his sleep-muddled brain thought it was a good idea to let his nose follow the smell as it kept drifting further and further away. The snicker that tainted the quiet of the morning should have been the sign that he needed to know that something was not right, but this was coffee, the true fountain of life and in his defense, he was barely awake. Literally! His eyes were still closed. All it took was a slight shuffle closer to the coffee and next thing he knew was on the floor, the pain waking him up instantly.

Steve on the other hand, was cackling like a hyena while holding his phone up to record the entire ordeal. 

"I could have broken my arm, you know?" Tony said sullenly. 

  
And Steve, never missing a beat, responded with, "And I would have taken you to the hospital," before playing the video and laughing all over again. 

  
Tony got up from the floor and grumpily snatched the coffee from the kitchen counter. That was how things had developed between Steve and Tony. Steve had simply taken one look at Tony, when he stumbled into the kitchen one morning after Steve's jog, and decided that this sleep-rumpled Bambi deserved to be taken care of... Of course, that was before he had some coffee and became a little shit. 

  
Tony, for his part had been nervous about having this new person in his space - even though the space was technically Steve's and he and Peter were the ones invading - but Steve just fit right in. He took care of them and made sure that they were awake and on time, like today. Tony had a meeting at Wayne Corp to discuss terms and conditions for using their labs and he was as nervous as he was excited... Or at least would be as soon as the coffee kicked in. 

  
"Oh man, wait 'til I send this to Buck," Steve stated as he played the video and laughed all over again. He was getting more and more creative in his methods. Speaking of James, he strolled in at that moment, with Harley trailing next to him, wearing formal navy fitted slacks, a light blue shirt - half buttoned - and slippers. James showing up without knocking was another by-product of having Steve here. Apparently, since they lived together most of their lives growing up, personal space was never really a thing for them. Tony could understand because Rhodey is the Bucky to his Steve, if the stories are anything to go by. What was not normal however, was seeing James this not put together. Even his hair was hanging wet, water dripping down his shoulder. 

  
"Harls, please go find Peter and do whatever it is that y'all do together, just no potato guns and no explosions!"

  
Harley immediately scrambled away, shouting back "No promises!" 

  
"I can still ground you, y'know!" 

  
"But you love me so you won't!," was heard from somewhere further in the apartment.

That had been the winning argument even when James wanted Harley and Peter grounded for their first incident at school, except it came from Steve. "First" because there were two more incidents after, just not as severe. That was probably because Steve was now tasked with going to the school whenever an incident occurred because James was not budging on his banning of Tony from the school. Steve was not as likely to step on some toes while defending the children. 

James waited to hear a door closing before turning to the two adults in the room. 

  
"So I need huge favours from both of you," he started and Steve immediately knew something was wrong and how tense Bucky was holding himself and the way his posture was off told him as much. 

  
"Anything Buck, what's wrong?" 

  
He quickly checked the direction that Harley had gone in and when his eyes circled back, they met Tony's, who just raised an eyebrow at him. He took a deep, pained breath and asked: 

  
"Do you have somewhere you need to be this morning?" 

  
"Depends, I could probably reschedule depending on why you are asking," was Tony's response. 

  
James turned to Steve, waiting for a response, gritting his teeth when that slight movement caused him pain. 

  
"Not really, Buck, what's wrong?" 

  
James bit his lip before quickly checking that Harley was still where he had sent him. He finally let his shoulders sag in resignation.

"My arm has been hurting but this morning it just stopped functioning all together and it hurts so much more than - shit!" 

The pain almost had him keeling over and marring his face. He turned to Tony - whose eyes were wide and terrified - with a whispered "Please." 

  
Everything was blur of movement after that, with Tony shouting orders out for Steve and Steve trying his best to help. The worry was evident in the questions Steve kept trying to ask James, his voice choking when Tony opened the panels on the arm and James promptly passing out after that. 

  
************

When James came to some time later, there was not an ounce of pain. In fact, he could not feel anything where his metal arm should have been, but before he could let himself panic- 

  
"Don't move, you'll wake him up!" 

  
-Tony warned, and it was only then that James registered the slight weight on his chest. Harley's shaggy hair fell on his face as he clung on to James' chest. James felt a little smile tug at his lips before turning to Tony and the reason for his panic. 

  
"Was he scared? What happened?" 

  
"Well, I guess the pain got too much and you passed out and that's the state Harley found you in... only, I had to go elbow deep in your arm trying to turn off the artificial nerve transmitters and receptors, so you can imagine how that looked to him," Tony finished with a grimace before going back to work on the arm. 

"Did they even go to school?" 

"Nope, their personal chauffer was down and couldn't drop them off there on his way to work." 

"I guess I didn't get around to asking Steve to drop them off for me." 

"It's fine, they're smart, they'll catch up." 

James nodded and then took inventory of where he was. It was clearly Steve's room judging by the brown leather jacket hanging off the armrest of the grey love seat in the corner. His shirt was crumpled up on the floor and Tony was kneeling by the bed, his hands moving methodically, although he looked very uncomfortable in the way he was leaning over. 

  
"That looks painful," he rasped. 

  
"As long as it doesn't feel painful," was Tony's automatic reply. 

  
"No, I meant the way you are leaning over, right now," James said as he absent-mindedly started playing with Harley's hair. 

  
"Well it was the only way to get to the connections, short of molesting you, that is."

  
"What does molesting mean?" 

  
And lo and behold, Harley was awake, trying to hide a yawn on James' chest and then blinking back up to them. 

  
"Uh, well, you see-" 

  
"Are you and Peter done with that death star you were talkin' about?" 

  
"Well no, I saw Uncle Steve carry you here and I was worried." 

  
James beamed at him and hugged him closer, saying, "You love me!" 

  
That only served to make Harley untangle himself from the hug and get off the bed. 

  
"I didn't say that!" 

  
"You didn't need to,' James responded, closing his eyes with a smug smile. 

  
"Well, I guess this means you are okay now so I can join Uncle Steve and Peter in the kitchen. I hope they're not done making cookies," he added looking at James as though to remind him that he was the reason Harley was missing out. 

  
"You go do that, Champ." 

  
"I love you Buh-Buh!" 

  
James opened his eyes, and looked towards the door where Harley was standing unsure. 

  
"I love you more, Potato Head." 

  
Harley did not even stay to argue about the nickname, like he normally did, he just beamed and skipped away. James turned to see Tony smiling at him and then continuing on with the arm. 

  
"You know, I will never be able to find anything intimidating about you ever again." 

  
"Why don't you climb on my lap and let's find out?," James responded, wiggling his eyebrows and causing Tony to burst out laughing, "Seriously though, molest away, the innocent eyes have left the room and you'll be feeling the effects of staying like that for a while." 

"Okay, but you'll tell me if it gets uncomfortable, alright?" 

  
"Doll, trust me, if I get uncomfortable, it won't be for what you think," and boy was it satisfying to see that blush spread across Tony's face.

*******

Later that evening, when Tony was just finishing up on James' arm, there was a knock on the door. Tony, who was still straddling James' lap paused waiting to hear the knock again and then debating whether or not to get that. James' hand on his hip added a bit of pressure to get his attention and James shook his head, a playful smirk on his lip. 

  
"Is anyone going to get that?", they heard Steve ask from the kitchen - James held up a finger to his lip when Tony looked like he was about to respond - and then, softer, "No, not you Peter, I was talking to the others... let me go get it."

  
That caused a giggle to escape from Tony and a corresponding grin to appear on James' face. Tony closed the last panels on James' arm, smiling proudly at his work. 

  
"Please flex for me Sgt. Barnes," Tony asked coyly and James burst out laughing. 

  
"How can I say no when you ask so nicely, Doll?", James responded, obnoxiously flexing both his arms and getting a mouthful of his crumpled shirt once Tony got off his lap. 

  
"Tony, you've got a someone here to see you," they heard Steve say from somewhere in the apartment. 

  
"Me?!" Tony muttered. 

  
"Y' made some new friends recently?" James asked with a raised eyebrow in Tony's direction but Tony only shook his head frowning before leaving the room, James trailing close behind him. 

  
James was honestly just gearing up to throw out the poor punk who decided to come harass Tony out of nowhere. The entire time that Tony had been there, the only person who came to visit him was Natasha, and maybe Clint but he does not really count because he was only passing by before heading to Natasha's. Since Steve did not know who was at the door, James was convinced it was not anyone welcome. Of course, that was before Tony suddenly paused and then rushed forward into some guy's arms. 

  
"Bruce, it's so good to see you!" he stepped back, beaming, "How are you? What are you doing here?" 

  
The guy, the boy really, looked down at Tony, a fond smile on his face. His dark hair was neatly combed and he was wearing a black three-piece suit, probably tailored, and he could see an expensive watch peeking out of his sleeve. 

  
"I don't know Anthony, you tell me?" 

  
That's probably when it clicked for Tony because his eyes grew comically wide, "I'm so so sorry Bruce, I promise I have the design ready, I just got really distracted and I promise-" 

  
Bruce lifted a hand to try and stop him, "Tony please, calm down, I was just worried that something might have happened to you but then I called Rhodey and he said I should come here," he looked around the room then, "here where I met Mr Rogers and I guess the former Sergeant, nice to see you again Barnes."

  
"Junior," was James' cool response and Bruce scowled at that, to James' great satisfaction. 

  
Tony and Steve looked between the two of them before looking at each other. Tony shrugged and went to the kitchen to fetch his design. Steve decided to stay behind and wait for Tony to get back to before he can get back to cooking. 

  
"So I'm guessing there's some history here..." 

  
"Nothing consequential," was Bruce's response and Bucky's was a simple "No!" 

  
"What do you want with Tony, Wayne?" 

  
"I should be asking you that, you're the one who just came with him, from what I assume are the bedrooms looking undone. He's a little too young for you Barnes!" 

  
"Now listen here, you little-" 

  
"What's going on?" 

  
"Nothing," was their simultaneous response, their eyes never leaving each other. Bruce was the first to look away, turning his attention to Tony. 

  
"Is that the design," Bruce asked, not even waiting for Tony's response before browsing through it. Steve took the opportunity to quietly get Bucky to follow him to the kitchen before the food got burnt. 

  
"Tony this is- Wow! - this may just be my next favorite investment. When do you want to start?" 

  
"Uh well, I thought we'd discuss that in the meeting. I need flexible hours and it has to be at the local office," Tony finished, looking sheepish. 

  
"Because of Peter?" a nod, "And if I offered to have Alfred help with the child rearing, would that make it easier to move to Gotham?" 

  
"Gotham? I don't want to make Peter have to readjust again, once was enough this year."

  
"I think the labs at Gotham would have been ideal for this but its fine, we can discuss how to set up your personal lab space in the official meeting with Uncle Lucious," Bruce checked his watch, "I need to run, I have a dinner meeting to get to but I'll have my assistant call you about the meeting-" 

"Don't let him leave with those designs, Tony, you'll never see them again," James said from the kitchen entry-way. Bruce shook his head disbelievingly in response and placed the designs in Tony's hands. 

  
"I'll be in touch and Barnes, I hope one day you will understand that I had nothing to do with that and I'm sorry it happened," and with that Bruce Wayne was gone. Tony turned to James for answers but before he could ask, James decided to choose that moment to speak: 

  
"I have no idea how you are even associated with Wayne," and with that James stepped back into the kitchen, leaving Tony dumbfounded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's been a while and it's still going to be another while. I just wrote this to run away from the stress of exam season. I hope y'all are all good 🤗 Also, I'll respond to the previous chapter's comments next time. I've seen them, I love them and they're probably the reason we even have this chapter but I've cut a lot from my study session.


End file.
